Is in-house moving out?

The “UK Payroll Technology Trends” research found the single biggest challenge that payroll experts face is compliance, with one third of respondents highlighting this as theirs.

The second biggest challenge highlighted was accuracy, with 17 percent selecting this option.

The third, and largest challenge, were technology-related issues, from struggles with technology transformation, reporting, data integration to self-service.

The research also aimed to find out how payrollers implemented specific points of the payroll process.

Staff onboarding was the process that was most likely to be carried out manually, with 31 percent of respondents saying they managed this using offline or paper-based systems. Despite this, in-house technologies were still used by most respondents, with 34 percent indicating they used this method.

Time and attendance can often add lots of complexity to payroll operations, as unplanned scheduling changes, shift premiums and working-time directives add greater risk of inaccurate or late payment of employees. Our findings suggest that this process is the one most likely to use an in-house solution, with 38 percent of the payroll professionals selecting this response.

Is in-house moving out?

Perhaps the most interesting trend in payroll technology is that for the fundamental parts of the process, payslip administration, payments, year-end and termination, 60 percent of respondents who indicated they were using in-house technology solutions stated they are likely to review the technology in the next year.

In terms of the specific deployments of technologies, it’s evident that bespoke approaches are being reviewed by a large number of payroll operations - which might see an increase in the application of HCM/ERP/point solutions in the coming years, or a move towards outsourcing.

What’s interesting about this finding is that although respondents were generally satisfied with their in-house technology, there was still an appetite to review this. Why is this the case? Is there a compliance aspect from regulatory bodies? Or could it be to do with the ongoing cost to maintain and future-proof in-house systems?

The full report “UK Payroll Technology Trends” is available and ready to download on Ceridian’s website.